I Can Wait
by flashfire11
Summary: Lily Evans is constantly being annoyed and asked out by the smart-aleck, arrogant, no-good James Potter. She knows he's just teasing her, knows it's just a stupid crush he'll grow out of...right?
1. Chapter 1

Lily waited nervously in line as name after name was called. What if she wasn't in the same House as Sev? Or worse, what if the hat didn't call out a House name for her at all?

"Nervous?" asked a voice behind her. Lily spun to see the black-haired boy Sev had argued with on the train. She narrowed her eyes.

"More than you are, obviously," she said disdainfully, looking him dismissively up and down. It was true; one of the black-haired boy's hands were in his pockets, and the other was around a blonde girl. The black-haired boy slipped his arm out from around the girl, who frowned, and held it out to Lily.

"Potter, James Potter," he grinned. Lily didn't shake his hand.

"You're the boy who teased Sev on the train, aren't you?" she frowned, unimpressed. The boy withdrew his hand, the grin sliding off his face.

" 'Sev'? Don't tell me you're friends with that slimeball." Lily took a step towards him, her eyes shooting daggers.

"Don't you _dare _call him a slimeball," she hissed. "You're the one who's the slimeball, Potter."

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily turned around, startled, then regained her composure and slowly walked to the stool. The butterflies that had been inside her stomach just seconds ago rapidly transformed into stampeding wildebeest. She lowered herself onto the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat onto her head. Lily flinched when the Sorting Hat's voice sounded in her ear.

"Hmmm, clever, brilliant mind, perhaps Ravenclaw? No, wait, here's something else…fiery determination, perseverance…well, it's obvious, isn't it? GRYFFINDOR!" Lily stood, carefully putting the hat back on the stool, and ran to the table on the far left. As she went, she glanced back at Sev with a bittersweet smile. He had been watching her go with the most heartbreaking expression, but when she glanced back at him, Sev looked away.

The other boy who had teased Sev on the train, Black, moved up the bench as Lily sat down, to make room. Lily could tell he was trying to make things better between them, but she sat stubbornly with her back to him and folded her arms. The rest of the Sorting went fairly well- until Sev got into Slytherin and that slimeball Potter got into her House. Unfair! At least there were some girls to keep her company. Lily chatted with Alice and Marlene all the way through dinner, but when they got to dessert, she felt someone (more like some_thing_) staring at her.

And of course, it was Potter.

"What do you want now, Potter?" Lily snapped. Potter grinned stupidly at her.

"Just admiring…never mind. Pass me the treacle tart, will you?" Lily pushed the plate towards him, but Potter grabbed her hand before she could pull away. "Go out with me, Evans?" he said, his hazel eyes boring into hers. Alice, Marlene, and Black all _oooohhed_ at the same time. The blonde Potter had his arm around earlier burst into tears over at the Hufflepuff table. Lily pulled her hand away.

"I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last person on Earth!" she glared at him. Potter's smile faltered.

"Ah well, Evans. I can wait."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry I didn't make an author's note or disclaimer in the last chapter. I'm not so good at that stuff. **

**PhoenixTears1001: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, it is rather early for James to ask out Lily, but I guess I wanted to make it clear that Lily wasn't going to be easy to get. Yeah, I really don't know.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to J.K. Rowling. I'm so good at making clever disclaimers (that was sarcastic)**

"Lily, come on!" Alice's voice carried across the almost empty Great Hall.

"Just a minute!" Lily called back, struggling with the zipper on her bag. It just didn't want to close.

"Lily…" said Marlene anxiously.

"Oh, you two go on ahead," Lily said frantically. "I'll catch up."

"But we've got Transfiguration, McGonagall will kill you if you're late."

"Not me," Lily allowed herself a secret smile. Professor McGonagall had told her in private that she had gotten a hundred and nine percent on the last exam, and a hundred and four on the one before that, and a hundred and six on the one before that. Alice and Marlene exchanged puzzled looks before shrugging and leaving. Lily jiggled her zipper a final time, and it finally slid closed. Hoisting the bag onto her shoulder, she sprinted out of the Great Hall and took the steps on the marble staircase two at a time.

She was just going around the corner when she smacked straight into something very solid and went sprawling on the floor.

"Oh my goodness, Lily I'm so sorry!" Squinting through the haze of pain, Lily saw an outstretched hand and grabbed it. "I didn't mean…you should probably sit down…" Lily put out her hand to lean against the wall for support and touched the back of her head gingerly before looking up.

"You." she narrowed her eyes and took a step back.

"Hey, Evans," Potter grinned, trying to nonchalantly lean back against the wall, but slipping and almost falling flat on the floor. Lily snorted.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to get to Transfiguration, so…." She tried to walk in a wide circle around him, but Potter bounded up and grabbed her arm. Lily stared at him. Potter hastily dropped her arm.

"Well, Evans, I was, um, wondering if maybe you'd like to go out with me?" He raised his eyebrows hopefully. Lily looked at him coolly.

"What makes you think that I've changed my mind recently?"

"Have you?"

"No! Dying Sev's robes neon pink does not make you automatically okay in my book!" Lily spun on her heel and stalked away, but Potter grabbed her arm again. "Did you hear me, Potter?!" Lily seethed. "The answer is NO!"

"Aw, come on, Evans." wheedled Potter, and Lily was outraged to see the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "I know you like me somewhere in that cold frozen heart of yours." Lily glared at him so hard he took a step back.

"I will, never, ever like you, Potter," she spat. "Do you think I was joking when I said I would rather go out with a centaur than you?"

Potter's face fell, and Lily almost felt sorry for him before he hitched his trademark grin back on.

"You'll come around, Evans. I can wait."Lily turned her back on him and hurried off to Transfiguration, using all of her control to not bash Potter's head in.

**A/N: Please REVIEW! They are my life! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All rights to J.K. Rowling. **

_**Year Three**_

Hearts pounded in the throats of hundreds of students as they watched the Gryffindor Seeker, Everett Bell, soared neck-and-neck with Jackson Chang of Ravenclaw, eyes focused on the Snitch, hovering a couple yards away from them. Even the commentary had ceased for a bit as everyone stared at the two Seekers. Suddenly the red and gold side of the stands exploded, jumping out of their seats and shouting and cheering as Everett Bell was mobbed by his fellow teammates.

"WE WON! WE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!" Black screamed, jumping up and down on his seat. Alice laughed and started hugging everyone in the vicinity.

"Come on!" Remus had to shout to make himself heard over the roar of the crowd. "Let's go down on the field!" Lily nodded and motioned for Alice, Black, and Pettigrew to follow them down. They danced in a spontaneous conga-line out onto the Quidditch field, followed by many other jubilant Gryffindors.

"Marley!" Lily called out to her friend, breaking away from the conga line and pelting toward her. She and Alice slammed into Marlene, toppling her over.

"We won the cup! _We won the cup,_" breathed Marlene, staring at the sky. Lily playfully punched her.

"Of course you did, you dolt!"

"We WON THE CUP!" Marlene bolted up, throwing her broom in the air. Lily and Alice scrambled up after her, laughing.

"C'mon, Marley, Dumbledore's awarding the trophy!" Alice tugged Marlene over to through the crowd, trying to get to the stands. "Oi! Quidditch champion coming through!" Alice shouted in frustration, trying to clear the way.

"Honestly, if you want to get through this crowd, you should copy us and Prongs," said a voice behind Lily. It was Sirius Black, and on his and Remus's shoulders sat Potter, thoroughly basking in the attention. Pettigrew was too short to be of much help.

"You know, for once in your life, you may have a good idea there, Black." said Lily.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Lily and Alice hoisted Marlene onto their shoulders and pushed their way through the crowd. to the front, where the remainder of the Quidditch team was.

"Go take it, Marlene!" urged Alice.

"ME?!" Marlene looked bewildered. Lily pushed her up right next to Everett Bell.

"Yes, you! You and Potter were the top scorers!" As much as she didn't want to, Lily had to admit that James Potter was a terrific Chaser. Though in her mind, he would never be as good as Marlene.

"Yeah, you too, Prongs." Remus and Black shoved Potter over next to Marlene.

Cheering as Marlene, Bell, and Potter lifted the gleaming Quidditch Cup into the air, the thought occurred to Lily that perhaps James Potter was not half bad.

Lily pushed her way through the crowded common room, trying to get to the girl's dormitory. She'd had enough of the celebration party. She was almost there when a hand spun her around.

"Hey, where ya goin', Evans?" It was Black and Potter, plastic cups in hand.

"Really, I was just trying to get up to the dorm. I need some sleep." said Lily.

"Aww, where's your Gryffindor pride?" scoffed Potter. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You realize we've been partying for four hours straight, right? And seeing as it's midnight, I think I'll go to bed." Lily tried to twist away again, but Black spun her back around.

"Don't worry, Evans, I understand. Some people just aren't the fun partying type like us, eh Prongs?" Potter grinned stupidly back.

"Right, Padfoot."

"That's my man. Listen, I'm gonna go try to find that blondie, something McKinnon."

"Marlene." Lily suggested, trying not to laugh at the though of what would happen to Black if he tried to hit on Marley.

"That one. I'll leave you two to it." He clumsily patted Lily on the shoulder and wandered off into the crowd. Lily started to make her way back to the dorm, but once more Potter blocked her. She sighed.

"What is it, Potter?" Since he had won and done a good job and all, she'd be a little nice.

"Erm…I was just wondering…did you mean it when you said me and Marlene were the best scorers?" Potter fidgeted with his cup. Lily debated her answer for a while before deciding to keep being nice.

"Yeah." She admitted. Potter beamed.

"So will you go out with me, Evans?" Lily almost laughed at Potter's hopeful expression. Did he really think she didn't know what he was up to? Potter was only after her because she was the only girl not worshiping the ground he walked upon.

"Sorry, Potter. You need to upgrade first." She pushed past him towards the dorms, almost not catching what he muttered under his breath.

"Whatever, Evans. I can wait."

**A/N: Please REVIEW! There, I was polite and said please. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Here's chapter four!**

_Year 4_

Alice tugged Lily and Marlene after her out of the Great Hall.

"Ow! Allie, what the heck are you doing?!" Lily frantically tried to get Alice to release her, but to no avail. Her crazy friend was now heading out into the courtyard.

"Alice, are you crazy?" Marlene grumbled, finally freeing herself and Lily from Alice's grip. "It's snowing like mad out here! And I thought you were supposed to be the sane one!" Alice barely paid them any attention. Lily followed her gaze across the courtyard to a tall Gryffindor with light brown hair and a cheerful face, much like Alice's.

"Oh, not again." said Lily. Alice just sighed.

"Oh, he's wonderful."

Lily and Marlene exchanged exasperated looks. Alice had had a new crush recently, on Frank Longbottom, a Gryffindor in the year above them. She talked about nothing else and it was getting very annoying.

"Seriously? You're stalking him again?" said Marlene, yawning. Alice rounded on them.

"Well, it's Valentine's Day, and I've been following him around to see if he's been giving valentines to any other girls!"

"Like he would. That kid is a nerd." Marlene said in a stage whisper. Alice just ignored her and, wiping off the snow, plopped down on a nearby bench, staring at Frank again.

"He's wonderful." She sighed again.

"Who's wonderful? Are y'all talking about me again?" Lily whipped around to see Sirius Black sauntering through the snow towards them.

"You wish," said Marlene. Black just grinned.

"Hey, you guys up for a snowball fight.? I'm getting restless, and that never ends well." He explained.

"Nah," sniffed Marlene, turning away. "I've got better stuff to do than kick your butt, Black."

"Suuuuure. As if you actually could." Black drawled. Marlene whipped back around, sizing him up.

"Is that a challenge?" Black shrugged. "Alright, I'm in." Marlene said.

"Great. What about you, Evans?" Black turned to Lily. She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

"Who else is playing?"

"Me and Jamesie. Remus and Pete are sitting out for now." he replied. Lily sighed and shrugged, casting a last wistful look at Alice.

"I guess it can't hurt."

* * *

"Okay, so here's the plan. We build the fort here. You stay here to guard, while I army-crawl around the left flank to bombard them with custom made aero-dynamic snowballs. After I smash their fort, I will make it back over to our territory and we will have an amazing snow party to celebrate our victory. How's that sound?" Marlene finished. Lily flopped onto her back, scooping up snow and compacting it to form "custom made aero-dynamic snowballs".

"Sounds fine to me," she answered. Marley tended to get a bit carried away when it came to competition, but you couldn't ask for a better partner in snowball fighting. Except for maybe Sirius Black and James Potter. Whatever. Lily and Marley would still beat them.

"GO!" came Black's voice from somewhere in front of her. Marley quickly slithered out of the snow fort and disappeared. Lily continued to pack snowballs, pausing every now and then to listen carefully.

It was pretty quiet, which meant that Marley was probably still sliding around on her stomach, being a ninja and looking for secret entrances to Black and Potter's fort.

Lily risked a glance over the top of the snowy wall at Alice. From here, it looked like she was reading a textbook, but Lily knew that under the pretense of studying, Alice was gazing at Frank again.

"CODE RED! MISSION ABORT! AGENT PEPPER, COMMENCE SEQUENCE NINE IMMEDIATELY!" Marlene's voice shouted. Lily, startled, bolted to her feet and started to fire snowballs at Sirius. Suddenly Remus and Pettigrew joined him. "You fight dirty! Four to two is outnumbered!" screamed Marlene.

"Sucks for you!" yelled Black. Lily was aiming a snowball at him when someone crashed into their fort.

"Sirius, come on, I breached the wall!" said Potter eagerly over his shoulder. Lily quickly shoved her snowball down his coat. "COLLLLDDD!" he shouted as Lily pushed his face into the snow, held his hands behind his back, and sat on him. "Letf miff ubf youtf fool!" Potter said, muffled.

"Don't think so," hummed Lily, tying his hands together using her wand. She grabbed a bunch of snowballs and was about to run out the arch when something cold and wet smacked into her head. She whipped around to see Potter grinning and cursed. Why hadn't she thought to take his wand?! Potter all of a sudden started launching snowballs at her, and without thinking she reacted by throwing more back at him. Lily was actually enjoying herself until she stumbled while bending down to scoop up some snow and suddenly Potter was on top of her with a snowball raised threateningly.

Lily screwed up her face in apprehension, waiting for him to slam it against her face. But she watched, disbelievingly, as Potter, tapped his wand on the snowball, transforming it into a rose. Still grinning, he handed it to her.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

Slightly puzzled, Lily asked, "Isn't it a tradition to ask me out and for me to turn you down? Especially on Valentine's Day?" Potter turned to look at her, a smile curving on his lips.

"Why? Do you want me to?" When she didn't reply, he just laughed. "I told you I could wait, Evans." And he ran away towards Black, Remus, Pettigrew and Marley, leaving her alone in the trampled snow with a rose in her hand and confusion in her head.

**A/N: Pleasee review! I'm kind of disappointed about the number of reviews I've gotten on this story and I'm hoping to bring it up! So please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **Thank you, LittleMarauder29 for reviewing! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to update sooner, but I was on vacation and was distracted for the past month or so. Anyway, here's chapter five. PPLLLEEASSSEEE REVIEWWWW!**

_**Year 5**_

Head high. Chin up. Straight face. Don't cry.

"Evans!"

Walk faster. Tight fists. Squared shoulders. Don't cry.

"Hey, EVANS!"

Almost there. Jutted jaw. Hurry, hurry. _Don't cry._

Lily stepped inside of the castle and started off down the hallway, very business-like, shoes tapping on the flagstone floor. The halls were nearly empty. After the OWLs, most students wanted to be outside, enjoying the sun and being able to stretch their legs.

As soon as the hallway was deserted, Lily ducked into the first classroom she saw and closed the door tightly. Making her way sedately over to a desk over on the far wall, she sat on the top and hooked her feet firmly around the desk's legs. Plopping her face into her hands, she finally allowed herself to let a tear slip down her face, and then another and another.

How could Sev have said that? Especially about her? His oldest friend? It might not have even hurt as much if she had known he viewed her in that way from the start. But he had fed her one lie after another, telling her that it didn't matter that she was Muggle-born, that he would like her anyway.

Lily leaned her head forward, propping her forehead against the cool wall. She just wanted to stay here forever, in the silence of that nice and empty room. She didn't know how long she was in there, perhaps minutes or perhaps hours, when there was a soft creak behind her.

Lily froze, her red hair shielding her still tearstained face.

"Lily?" Someone sat down next to her. Lily mentally cursed.

"Go away Potter." Her voice sounded weak and wobbly, not tough like she'd hoped. He didn't move and instead put an arm around her shoulder. Lily shrugged it off.

"Hey," he protested.

She didn't answer.

"Look at me." His voice was softer now. She shook her head. Lily heard him sigh, then get up. Was he giving up that easy?

Then Potter was back again, pushing away her hair and trying to wipe off her face with a tissue. Lily pushed him away again.

"Hey, I'm trying to help! Look, I'm not trying to make you feel insecure, or trying to make you like me. It's okay to cry. And I got Snivellus back for it, too."

"Don't call him that."

"Fine. The point is, I want to make it up to you, Lily." He really did sound earnest. "Please." They sat in silence for a moment or two, then Lily sighed and nodded, leaning into his shoulder. Potter seemed surprised, then resumed wiping her face with the tissue. When he was done, he very tentatively put his arm around her again. She didn't shrug it away this time.

They just stayed like that for a while, until Potter broke the silence.

"Would this be a bad time to ask you out?"

"Don't ruin your chances, Potter."

Even with eyes closed, she could tell he was smiling.

**A/N: Review NOWWW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I just wanted to apologize because I keep forgetting disclaimers so consider this a disclaimer for the whole story.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter in any way. Short and simple.**

**Also, thanks to everyone for reviewing! Love you all.**

**Also also, this chapter is longer than the others so...heads up. Enjoy!**

_**Year 6**_

Her quill skated across the paper, crossed a _t_, and dotted a period with a flourish.

"Done!" announced Lily triumphantly, throwing down her parchment and leaning back in her chair, stretching.

"Well, whoop-de-doo," muttered Alice, still bent over her parchment, madly scribbling away. "Try not to be too loud, Lils,; some of us are trying to work here." She shot a pointed look at Marlene, who was perched on top of the table folding a paper plane out of her fourth failed attempt at their Charms essay. Marlene glanced up innocently.

"Who, me? I'm just minding my own business over here, Allie. You be a good girl and finish your essay, now."

"It wouldn't hurt if you stopped throwing paper planes everywhere and actually put some effort into your work." muttered Alice. Marlene carefully creased a wing over, frowning in concentration.

"Well, excuse me, Mr. Cranky. Anyway, if you'd just let me take a look at your essay as I'd originally suggested, there would be no probl-"

"Seriousy, Marley? This is the only homework over Christmas break! Besides, you won't learn if you just copy off of Lily and me!"

"Oh yes, I would. I'd learn that you two are super smart and true mates!"

"I only have two words for you, Marlene. Bug. OFF!"

"I swear, I will, as soon as I finish my essay!"

"But you won't unless I let you copy!"

"Exactly!"

"Ugh, Marlene-"

Getting up, Lily left them to their bickering and wandered over to the common room fire, squatting down by the hearth. The flames flickered, looking as though they were trying to warm the whole castle up. Lily sighed, staring tiredly into the very middle of the flames.

A masked person looked back. Lily recoiled, recognizing it as one of the Death Eater's masks. The mask's expression was cruel, but the eyes behind it were not. They looked sad, but also as if they were urging her, to do what she didn't know. Funny, but the eyes looked familiar, a bit like….Sev-Snape's?

Lily blinked and the mask was gone. Was it her imagination?

"Oi!" A paper plane hit her in the back. Lily turned around. Marlene and Alice stood at the foot of the stairs, beckoning.

"It's our girl's night, remember?" said Alice.

"Oh, right," said Lily distractedly, standing up. She followed them up the staircase to the dorm, still thinking about the vision in the flames. Alice flopped on the bed, blowing her hair out of her eyes with a dramatic huff.

"What do you guys wanna do? Emmy"-Emmeline, who shared their dorm-"and Mary"- the other girl who shared their dorm-"aren't back from the library yet, but we don't have to wait for them." Marlene jumped up and down on her bed.

"Blind makeovers?" she suggested.

"Yess!" exclaimed Alice, rolling off her bed and rushing to the shared bathroom.

"Wait! I left my Charms essay downstairs!" Lily realized.

"So?" Marley rolled her eyes. "It's just an essay."

"Yeah, but I spent all night finishing it and don't want people to copy it," Lily said, looking pointedly at Marlene. She grinned sheepishly. "Be right back," Lily shot over her shoulder, running down the stairs already.

The common room was empty, as most everyone had gone to bed. Lily quickly spotted her essay and snatched it up. Glancing around, she made her way over to the still burning fire. She looked into it cautiously, afraid it might show her the same thing as before, but it just kept on cheerily burning, like a normal fire that had never once shown a creepy, possibly real vision to a freaked out girl.

Lily straightened up and wandered over to the window. It was only a couple more days until Christmas Eve, and the weather was living up to expectations. Fat, soft flakes were floating down from the sky, covering everything with their cold embrace. Lily smiled and leaned against the icy windowpane, observing the twinkling golden lights going out one by one, in the different parts of the castle.

"Pretty, isn't it?" said a voice in the shadows opposite her. Lily gasped and looked up.

"Blimey, Potter, you could've given me a heart attack!" Emerging from the shadows, he smiled slightly and leaned against the window opposite her. "How'd you sneak up on me like that?" Lily demanded. Potter shrugged. Lily studied his face warily. He didn't seem to be in the mood to annoy her. Therefore, she had no idea why he was down here with her, especially at this hour.

He turned to face her.

"I know I'm handsome and all that, but all this staring is making me a little uncomfortable," he said, eyes twinkling behind his glasses. Lily looked away, mumbling something about how she was not staring and he was not handsome. Potter chuckled and went back to looking out the window.

Lily couldn't for the life of her figure out was wrong with him tonight. Any other day, he would've accepted the challenge and gone on and on about how he _was _handsome and she was just in denial. But tonight…

"This has been fun and all, but I think I should go up now," said Lily, still frustrated with not being able to figure out a logical reason for this changed behavior. Also, Marley and Allie were probably wondering where the heck she went. Potter straightened up.

"I probably should too. See you la-" he stopped, staring at something above him. Puzzled, Lily followed his gaze and froze likewise.

Mistletoe.

Above her. Her and him. Her and Potter. No, no, this couldn't be.

She looked, stricken, back at Potter just as he looked at her. To her horror, he was drifting closer. She tried to back up, but her legs just wouldn't move. He was very close now. Lily could count the splattering of freckles on his nose. Even closer. She could feel his breath.

Through his glasses, she could see his eyes were closed. Slowly she closed hers, too. Would it really be so bad to kiss James Potter?

"Lily!"

Lily jerked backwards, her eyes flying open. Emmeline and Mary were coming in through the portrait hole from the library.

"Ready for our girl's night?" said Mary cheerfully, bounding over and hooking her arm through Lily's and nodding to Ja-Potter. "Hey, James."

"Hey, Mary." His voice sounded shaky

"C'mon, Lils," urged Emmy, already going up the dorm stairs. Mary towed Lily after her. Lily didn't dare look back.

* * *

"So, you and James, huh? I told you it wasn't all about the chase," smirked Marley. Lily glared at her.

"I told you, I was helping him out with his Charms essay."

"Mmmmmm," said Marley, not believing.

"You know, those red spots of blush make you look like a clown," Lily said desperately, trying to change the subject. Thankfully, Marley instantly fired up.

"Well, you look like that Muggle witch-lady-octopus thing Priscilla with all that eye shadow!"

"It's Ursula, actually," corrected Emmy, who was a Muggle-born also. Marley answered by hitting her over the head with a pillow.

After the pillow fight, Lily lay in bed, tossing and turning. Why couldn't she stop thinking about the almost kiss? It was so frustrating!

She wasn't the only one thinking that tonight.

**A/N: R&amp;R PLEASE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks so much to all the reviewers! If it weren't for you, I would've abandoned this story by now. **

**LittleMarauder29 and Goldenflame12****-MWAHAHAHAHA but I like to make my readers suffer :P! I was planning on them kissing anyway in this chapter, but thanks for the tip. **

**One little thing, Alice's date is Frank even though I said he's a year above them, so...pretend he got held back or something. Even though he's smart. I don't know.**

**Also, they use microphones in this because it would be too hard to sing using "Sonorus" all the time. (I think I spelled that wrong)**

**Anyway, ENJOY!**

_**Year 7 Part 1**_

"Come _on!_" Alice tugged Lily up the stairs to the dormitory. "The ball starts in half an hour and you've been spending all this time in the library! Plus, you're Head Girl- the one who organized this whole thing- and need to do the opening speech!" Lily groaned and let herself be dragged into their bustling dorm, dropping off her messenger bag loaded with books on the bed.

"Allie, you know I had to finish that essay-"

"Which, by the way, is due in two weeks?" added a voice. Lily looked up to see Marlene, who was swinging around her bedposts, blonde hair flying out in a halo.

Marlene's dress was short and spunky. It was plain black and strapless, with a white sash around the middle. The smooth, silky material flowed down to her knees. Marlene's hair was left loose, as she would have fussed if it was put up any other way.

"You look nice," Lily commented to Marlene. Marlene looked down at her dress dismissively.

"I hate wearing dresses," she grumbled.

"Come on, Lily, I need to do your makeup," urged Alice. Lily quickly opened her trunk and pulled her dress out from where it had been carefully folded. Then she followed Alice into the bathroom. After sliding into her dress, Lily was plunked down in front of the mirror by Alice.

The next twenty minutes passed in a whirl of blush, eyeliner, lipstick, and more. When Lily finally stood up, she had to check to make sure the person in the mirror was really her.

Alice had French braided her hair down one side of her head and into a bun, but left wisps of hair on either side that framed her face. On her eyes were golden eyeliner, which brought out her green irises. There was a hint of blush on her cheeks, and Lily had soft pink lipstick on her lips.

But best of all was the dress.

The rich green sleeves were silky and ruffly. Two gold swathes of cloth crisscrossed over Lily's chest and into a green sash that tied in a bow at the back. The rest of the dress cascaded downward in a series of gentle ruffles. Alice turned to look at Lily in the mirror.

"What do you think?" Lily responded by throwing her arms around her. "You'll smudge the makeup!" laughed Alice, peeling Lily off of her. "Now get out of here, I need to get dressed." Lily went out the door, where she found Emmeline and Mary trying to force Marlene into a chair so they could put lipgloss on her.

"It's just a little bit, honestly, it won't hurt!" exclaimed Mary exasperatedly.

"Get that thing away from me!" Marlene yelled stubbornly. Emmeline sighed and stood up.

"Oh my gosh, Lily, you look gorgeous!" Emmeline and Mary fluttered around her, smoothing her dress and tucking in hair, talking all the while. Lily was feeling a bit uncomfortable with all the attention when the door opened and Alice stepped out.

Alice's dress made her look like a water fairy or something. It was light blue and green, and fell to around her knees in varying lengths. After Emmeline and Mary had fussed with Alice, too, they all glided downstairs.

Alice put up a big commotion where they had to peek around the curve of the spiral staircase to check that Frank was there while she smoothed down her dress and hair. After assuring her that she was perfect, Alice went down the staircase and off through the portrait hole, beaming, with Frank. Then they proceeded to do the exact same thing with Emmeline, only involving Remus instead of Frank. After delivering Emmeline to Remus, Marlene rushed up to Remus and whispered something hurriedly in his ear. He shook his head and pointed downstairs.

"What was that about?" Lily asked Marlene curiously, after bidding goodbye to Mary, whose date was from Hufflepuff. Marley flushed and mumbled something about food before dragging Lily after her out the portrait hole.

"Is this about the secret date?" Lily asked eagerly as they hurried towards the Great Hall. Marley walked faster. Lily took this as a yes. "Who is he, Marley?" Marlene was practically running now. She had been keeping her date to the ball a closely guarded secret, changing the subject whenever they talked about the ball, acting odd whenever they brought up the topic of what to wear, things like that. Finally they reached the marble staircase. Lily scanned the Entrance Hall. There he was!

Lily bid goodbye to Marlene, who practically sped off, and floated down the staircase into his arms.

"Hello, Hunter," she greeted. Hunter grinned back before spinning her around once, causing her dress to float out around her.

Lily had been planning to go to the ball with Remus - as friends, of course - before Hunter had come up to her after Potions with the Ravenclaws and asked - very politely, by the way - if Lily would go to the ball with him. He had just looked so cute and hopeful that she couldn't say no. So what if he was known to be a player? It's possible for people to change. And anyways, she had just found out that Emmeline had a crush on Remus, and it was fun to play matchmaker with them. So, here she was.

"Shall we?" said Hunter, gesturing to the Great Hall and offering her his arm at the same time. Lily giggled and took it.

The Great Hall was packed. There was a stage up front with musicians tuning their instruments. Against one wall was one of the House Tables with snacks and refreshments. A huge dance floor was set up in the very center, and lots of little tables were placed around it.

Dumbledore stepped onto the stage and tapped a microphone.

"Hello? Testing? One, two, three. What's that? It's working? All right, here we go. Welcome to the Seventh Year Ball! To start off, our Head Boy and Girl will give us a starting speech. Please welcome Lily Evans and James Potter!" Hunter pushed Lily towards the stage.

She clumsily climbed up the steps, tripping on the hem of her dress, and made her way to one of the microphones. She didn't look over at Potter.

"Um, welcome! Yes, welcome. Uh, please keep in mind…" As Lily continued on with her speech, she could feel Potter's eyes on the back of her head, looking her over. Things had been a little awkward between them since last year. She gritted her teeth, determined not to make eye contact with him.

"And remember to have fun!" chimed in Potter at the end of her speech.

"Erm, yes, have fun," mumbled Lily, but everyone had already cheered and started dancing. She walked down the steps, plastering a smile on her face as she reached Hunter.

The first half of the night passed in a whirl of dancing. During the one slow song the band played, Lily rested her head on Hunter's shoulder and relaxed. That relaxation disappeared though, when she spotted Potter staring at her from across the room. The blonde girl in his arms was tossing her hair around and giggling obnoxiously, but he wasn't paying any attention to her whatsoever. His hazel eyes burned into her green ones accusingly, making Lily want to stand up and shout, "I'm not doing anything wrong! Not my fault if you didn't ask me before Hunter did!"

But she didn't. She simply closed her eyes and let Hunter spin her away from Potter.

After that song ended, Hunter offered to go for drinks and Lily sat down on a nearby chair, massaging her feet. Thankfully, Potter was nowhere to be seen. Alice plopped down in the chair next to her, eyes bright.

"There you are! Frank just went to get drinks. Anyway, have you seen Marlene's secret date yet?"

"Nope."

"C'mon, let's look, they have to be here," Alice said, frowning as she and Lily scanned the crowd.

"There she is!" gasped Lily, pointing. Marlene was dancing with the person Lily would have least expected. Alice's jaw dropped.

"Sirius Black?!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice. Lily could barely believe it too. Hadn't they been the subject of each other's annoyance since day one? But here they were, grinning at each other. Lily had to admit, Black was doing himself justice and not looking at any of the other girls trying (rather desperately, Lily thought) to get his attention. He had eyes only for Marley.

"As long as he doesn't hurt her," murmured Alice, watching them critically. A tall, skinny boy sat down at their table.

"Hey, Frank," said Lily warmly.

"Hello, Lily," responded Frank, handing Alice a butterbeer and receiving a kiss on the cheek in return. Lily frowned. Hunter should have been back by now.

"Er, Frank?" He looked up. "Did you see Hunter at the drinks table?"

"Yeah, actually, but he left before I did. I assumed he would be with you by now,"

"Oh." Lily's face fell. "Well, thanks, Frank, I think I'll go try to find him," Lily rose from her chair and started towards the drinks table. Hunter wasn't there. She asked Remus to check the bathroom. No Hunter. The seething mass of people on the dance floor. No Hunter. Lily went back to the table where she'd sat with Alice and Frank. No Hunter. Where could that boy possibly be?! Lily made her way out of the Great Hall and into the Entrance Hall. Also empty. Lily sighed and was turning to go back into the Great Hall when she saw him.

He was in an alcove with some brunette. They looked very busy.

She couldn't wrap her mind around what she was seeing. Hunter had always had a reputation for this kind of stuff, but she'd never thought that he-he would do this to _her_. Lily ducked her head down and ran past the furiously snogging couple out into the courtyard. There, she sat down on a bench and just let the tears flow. She could only think of one time when it had hurt this bad, when Snape had called her that filthy word.

"Lily?" Oh, great. She knew that voice.

"P-please, I just to b-be alone, James," Lily froze. Since when had she called him James?! Suddenly she felt warm arms wrapping around her, soaking out all her tension.

"Tell me what happened." Lily didn't want him to know, didn't want _anyone_ to know how humiliating this had been. But, against her better judgement, she found herself relaxing and then the whole story spilled out. When she had finished, Ja-Potter looked murderous. "Where's this stupid Hunter? Tell me so I can find him and beat his brains out. If he even has any,"

"No, James,"-shoot, it slipped out again!-"please don't. C-could you just stay here? With me?" Lily bit her lip.

"Of course." He didn't even hesitate. So they just sat there, in comfortable silence, until Lily suddenly remembered something.

"Where's your date? The blonde girl?" James laughed.

"Oh, I told her I had to go to the bathroom. I doubt she's even realized I've been gone an hour."

"You should probably go back to her." But Lily didn't really mean it.

"Nah, I think I'll stay here. You can't get rid of me, Evans."

It slipped out before she could think.

"You can call me Lily." For one awful moment he didn't speak. Then-

"Okay, Lily." Lily smiled. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been this content. James stood up as a slow song came on and offered his hand.

"May I have this dance?" Lily smiled and took it. They waltzed around in silence. When the song ended, James pulled her closer. There was a questioning look in his eyes, but it was Lily who closed the gap.

His lips were sweet and warm, everything she'd hoped they would be. On an impulse, she reached up and linked her hands around his neck, pulling him even closer. One of his hands was cupping her cheek, the other on her back. Lily wanted to stay like that forever, kissing James Potter under the stars.

When they finally broke apart, both of them were grinning stupidly. James was the first to speak.

"Lily, will you go out with me?" he blurted. Lily smiled. He looked so cute, like he thought she would say no.

"Yes." James's face lit up. Lily leaned against his shoulder, and they started back for Gryffindor Tower, hand in hand.

**A/N: R&amp;R!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks so much to all reviewers! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I made you a long chapter to make up for it. WARNING FOR SAPPINESS LATER ON!1  
**

**Enjoy! **

_**Year 7 Part 2**_

"Oi, Evans, wake up!"

"Wha-?" Lily's eyes jerked open to see Sirius Black grinning at her, his wand jabbing in her ribs.

"Stop that!" she hissed crossly, shoving his wand away and sitting up straight. "What did I miss?"

They were in the middle of the Great Hall, seated in rows of of alphabetical order, awaiting graduation. The rows of stiff black robes and silly Muggle graduation hats spread across the hall where the House tables usually presided. Professor Binns was at the front podium, giving the graduation speech because he was the only staff member who could deliver the whole thing without falling asleep. Lily could see she was not the only one one of her classmates guilty of taking a nap.

"Nothing much," yawned Sirius, tipping his chair back on one leg. Lily hastily pushed it back onto four legs again, lest he crash over and wake up the other slumbering graduates. "Just missed the bit about the joys of graduation and how we shouldn't waste all our studying by being ballet teachers." He started to drum his wand on his lap, complete with cymbal sound effects. Lily groaned.

"Can you not? I swear, you have ADHD."

"What's that stand for? Absolutrific doubly hot donkey?"

"Forget it."

"Arbitrary draconic hydrangea dirtbag?"

"Fancy words for Sirius Black," Lily laughed.

"Oh, you know it." He casually turned around and started pointing his wand at Marlene's graduation cap, making it levitate in the air. She yanked her cap back onto her head and spun around, looking for the source. When she saw Sirius, her eyes narrowed and Lily saw her mouthe, _You're dead meat._

Lily smiled to herself as she watched the odd couple. After the dance, the unexpected relationship between Sirius and Marlene had blossomed suddenly, throwing off all of Hogwarts since Sirius had first walked into the Great Hall, pulled Marlene to him, and kissed her soundly during breakfast. The sounds of hopeful girls groaning was overpowered by the wolf whistling. Lily and James had smiled at each other across the table, glad to see their best mates together.

Oh, that reminded her. James.

Lily twisted backward in her chair and under the pretense of un-snagging her robe she looked back at him, three rows back, two chairs to her right.

He caught her eye, as if he'd known exactly when she was going to turn around and was just waiting for it. Lily flashed him a smile. He grinned and, pointing up to Binns, still droning on, mimed snoring. Lily blew him a kiss and quickly turned around again.

Three rows back and two chairs to the right, James' hand moved of it's own accord towards his pocket, withdrawing a dark green velvet box. He hadn't been able to keep his hands off it since he'd bought it. Slowly, carefully, James cracked open the box , just enough to see the glittering brilliance inside, and then swiftly snapped it shut.

* * *

Lily gazed sadly around the Hall, trying to memorize every detail.

Gryffindor's vibrant banners fluttered on the stone walls, reminding everyone who had won the House cup. The hubbub of chatter and laughter washed over her, mingling with the sound of silverware against plates. Lily closed her eyes and laid her head on Alice's shoulder, just listening to the sound of her friend's conversation.

So many memories here - how could she leave it all behind? This had been her home for seven years, and now Lily had to say farewell? A small tear leaked onto Alice's shoulder.

* * *

"Where are we going, James?"

"Just taking a final walk. It's the last night."

Lily tucked her arm through his and leaned against his shoulder. "Okay."

After dessert, James had suggested a last walk around the grounds with the Marauders, Alice, Marlene, and Lily. The others were walking ahead, laughing and goofing off.

It was a beautiful night. The half-moon shone over the grounds in a cloudless sky, making it almost as bright as daytime. In the windows of the castle, warm golden lights glowed, reminding Lily of how much she'd miss Hogwarts. The lake, Gryffindor Tower, Hagrid's cabin, even the Quidditch Pitch and the Forbidden Forest.

Blinking out of her reverie, Lily noticed they were getting behind.

"Come on, James, hurry up," she tugged at his arm. He made no move to pick up his pace.

"Relax, Lily, we'll catch up." Though his tone sounded relaxed, Lily could feel that he was tense. His hand kept drifting towards his pocket. She wondered what on earth was going to happen that would make James so nervous.

Ahead, the gang rounded a corner and out of sight. They were passing the lake now, heading for the beech tree which so many lazy summer days had been spent under.

Suddenly, under the beech tree on the banks of the lake, James stopped walking. Puzzled, Lily urged him forward.

Instead he dropped to one knee. Lily's eyes grew wide. Was he doing what she thought he was doing?

James took a deep breath and drew a green velvet box from his pocket. Lily's hands flew to her mouth.

She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe.

James opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond set with emeralds.

"Lily, I've been in love with you since first year. You used to hate me, but when you finally returned my feelings, I felt like I was going to burst. With happiness. Not spontaneous combustion or something. This past year has been the best of my life." James took another deep breath.

"Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

Lily couldn't say anything. Speechless. James was watching her, afraid of what her next words would be. Lily had no words at all. So she just grabbed his neck, pulled him to her, and kissed him passionately.

James eagerly responded. When they finally broke apart, Lily whispered,

"Yes."

Whooping, James picked her up and twirled her around before carefully setting her down again and sliding the ring onto her finger. Then he picked her up again, this time running down the hill and around the lake. Giggling, Lily clung tight. Around the corner, the Marauders appeared to have not disappeared at all, but waited, eager faces peering around the corner for a glimpse of the proposing.

When they saw James's jubilant face and Lily's grinning one, they burst into cheers, Alice and Marlene squealed at the sight of the ring, and Remus, Sirius, and Peter slapped James on the back, congratulating him.

All of a sudden, Sirius swooped up Marlene and ran down towards the Quidditch shed where all the brooms were stored. After a simple "Alohomora", Sirius passed out brooms, and soon they were all soaring into the sky.

Lily laughed out of pure delight, the sound snatched away by the wind. She propped her chin up on James's shoulder in front of her and contentedly closed her eyes. James tilted the broom so they were hovering over Hogwarts, with nothing between them and the moon.

"I love you." The whisper escaped from Lily's mouth on it's own.

"I love you too."

**A/N: R&amp;R! :) (no flames please)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey there! I know it has been a while since I updated, and I'm really sorry. Homework and all that...but here's the final chapter! I can't believe this fic is done. Thank you to everyone who stuck with it! Still review and favorite though. Thank you all my reviewers! I love you all!**

**P.S.: I didn't proofread this so sorry for mistakes.**

**zooble: If Lily was born in 1960, and died in 1981, she would've been 21. Since Harry was born in July of 1980, Lily most likely became pregnant with him when she was 19, which means she and James must've gotten married, or at least engaged, fairly early.**

**Enjoy! And please still review!**

_**Green**_

The rainbow-colored smoke rings puffed out of James' wand, rising gently into the air. Lily smiled as Harry reached for one, squashing it triumphantly in his fist, then open his hand in surprise to see that it had disappeared. James chuckled and made a smoke ring drift out from Harry's ear. Harry's eyes widened as he tried to clutch it.

Lily leaned back against the wall, unnoticed by either of them. They looked so happy. She wished it could always be that way. But until Voldemort was gone, it had to be like this.

She sighed and moved into the lamp light.

"Time for bed, Harry."

Harry shook his head stubbornly. Lily smiled mischievously and picked him up. Her son pouted but resigned himself to sucking his thumb. Grinning, James stood up, stretching, and threw his wand down on the couch.

"Goodnight, Harry." James kissed Harry on his head. Harry gurgled and tried to snatch at James' hair. James ruffled it, leaning back out of Harry's reach. "Nuh-uh, big guy. You don't get to touch the goods."

Lily smiled at her husband over her shoulder as she took Harry out of the living room and up the stairs into the nursery. Setting him down in the crib, she looked around the room and sighed. How had these years passed by so quickly? There was a framed photograph on the dresser of her and James holding Harry a couple days after he was born. She looked tired, yet happy. About a year ago…

And had it only been this year that Marley had gone? Lily could remember what they'd had for dinner, yet could barely hold onto Marley's laugh, Marley's face, Marley's beautiful blonde hair… Why did this have to happen?

At least she still had Alice. But Lily never saw any of her old friends these days. She hadn't seen Alice since they'd both been pregnant. She hadn't even seen Alice's baby yet. Only James' friends came by now, though they were far from being their prank-loving grade school selves. Remus had permanent creases on his face from worrying so hard, Peter was anxious and jumped whenever anyone said anything, and Sirius...well, Sirius was almost beyond repair. After what had happened to Marlene, he'd barely spoken to anyone, even James. The only time Lily had seen him a bit like his old self had been Harry's birthday, when he'd given Harry a toy broomstick. Harry's delighted reaction had seemed to cheer him up. Thank goodness for that- Sirius needed a lot of cheer in his life right now.

Lily started out of her reverie and looked away from the photograph to Harry, who was being unusually silent. She bent down over his crib and kissed him on the forehead. He grabbed for one of her red locks and twisted it around his finger. Lily smiled sadly and gently eased it out of his grasp.

Slipping down the stairs, Lily ran into James in the hallway.

"Hey," Lily smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. James, in turn, cupped her face with his hands. She leaned forward and kissed him. James broke away, smiling.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I don't know. You know I love you, right?" Lily tilted her head. James grinned.

"Yeah, I do. You I love you, too, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Lily kissed him again. He tasted like spaghetti and pure bliss and sunshine and comfort and cockiness and love. She loved it. She never wanted that kiss to end, that one shining moment. Lily didn't care if it lasted her whole life, because in that one kiss was everything she had ever wanted. Just her and James and Harry upstairs, in their own separate perfect bubble.

But, like all bubbles, it had to burst.

And this one burst with a bang.

The front door flew open and Lily broke apart from James. Standing in the doorway was her worst nightmare. James pushed away from her immediately and ran towards Voldemort, yelling for her to take Harry, he would hold him off.

Lily wanted to scream at him, "_Don't! He'll just kill you! You're no match for him! You don't even have your wand!_" She knew James would die. But Lily couldn't do anything about it. Because she still had so much to lose.

She ran up the staircase, not paying attention to the flash of green light that lit up the whole hallway. James was gone. Lily bit back tears. She would keep Harry safe. She had to.

Lily reached the top of the staircase. Cardboard boxes were still scattered everywhere from moving in so long ago. She pointed her wand at them and they piled up in front of the door. She knew it wouldn't hold Voldemort off for long. Lily didn't even know if she could escape. She just knew she had to see Harry again.

Lily stumbled over to the crib and picked up her son, tears dripping silently down her face. Harry looked pleasantly up at her, wondering why his mother was here right after she'd just put him to bed. Lily looked into his eyes that were so much like her own and whispered, "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." Over and over again. Because she wanted that to be the last thing he heard.

Behind her, Lily heard shifting boxes. He was coming. She pressed Harry to her chest, kissed him, then put him back in the crib. Voldemort was standing behind her. She stepped in front of the crib and started pleading with him. Lily didn't even know what she was saying. She just knew she would protect Harry with her last breath.

Voldemort raised his wand. Lily looked to the side. She didn't want that terrible _thing_ to be the last thing she saw. Her eyes landed on the photograph of the Potter family, _her _family. Suddenly her life flashed before her eyes, like everyone says it does.

A little redheaded girl flew off a swing away from her horse-faced sister and landed in front of a bat boy. The Sorting Hat cried out the name of the brave. A black-haired boy handed a blood red rose to an equally red girl. The same boy and girl danced under the stars. And now they held a baby in their arms, smiling and waving at the camera.

_I can wait_. James had always said that. And now Lily couldn't wait any longer.

It ended up being green. Green was the last thing she saw. Green engulfed her, the same color as her son's eyes.

Lily saw nothing more.


End file.
